Glen Wood Watched Ford Win Le Mans In 1966

June 13, 2016

Glen Wood, like other members of the Ford Performance family, will have a keen interest in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, as Ford will make its return to sports car racing’s premier event on the 50th anniversary of its breakthrough Le Mans victory. Wood, whose family-owned team fields the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion driven by Ryan Blaney on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup circuit, was at Le Mans back in 1966 for that historic victory, which saw the Ford GT Mark II not only win the race, but sweep the top three finishing positions. Continue reading Glen Wood Watched Ford Win Le Mans In 1966 →

Blaney Bounces Back For Sixth-Straight Top-20 Finish On A Big Day For Ford At Michigan

June 12, 2016

A late-race brush with the wall left Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team to play a supporting role on a grand day for Ford Motor Company at its home track, Michigan International Speedway. Continue reading Blaney Bounces Back For Sixth-Straight Top-20 Finish On A Big Day For Ford At Michigan →

Blaney Earns Top-Five Starting Spot At Michigan

June 10, 2016

Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew equaled their fifth-place qualifying effort of a year ago at Michigan International Speedway on Friday, but this year’s run came with a new aerodynamic package.
Continue reading Blaney Earns Top-Five Starting Spot At Michigan →

Wood Brothers Delivered A Victory For Ford Motor Company In Inaugural NASCAR Race At MIS

June 8, 2016

The inaugural NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway, on June 15, 1969, was appropriately named the “Motor State 500.”

Held in the home state of the major U.S. automakers, the race has been from the beginning an event that participating auto makers want to win, for many reasons, including local bragging rights. Continue reading Wood Brothers Delivered A Victory For Ford Motor Company In Inaugural NASCAR Race At MIS →

Impressive Pocono Performance Nets Blaney His Sixth Top 10 of 2016

June 6, 2016

Fuel strategies were the order of the day in the rain-delayed Axalta 400 at Pocono Raceway on Monday.

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team took a late-race gamble by stopping for fuel with 39 laps remaining, a move that could have put them in position to contend for the win, as many of their competitors were running short of making it to the finish. But a subsequent caution period negated that strategy, which also would have put the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team in good shape if the race had gone into overtime. Continue reading Impressive Pocono Performance Nets Blaney His Sixth Top 10 of 2016 →

Rainy Days Ahead In Pocono
June 2, 2016

Last season, when rain was forecast for the day Sprint Cup teams were set to qualify, there was a sense of dread around the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team. Running a part-time schedule at that time and with no owner points to fall back on, Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Fusion missed three races as a result of wet weather and cancelled qualifying. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Rainy Days Ahead In Pocono →

Pit Road Woes Relegate Blaney To a 20th-Place Finish in Coca-Cola 600

May 30, 2016

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team started strong in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but a series of misfortunes led to a 20th-place finish.

Blaney started 18th and drove his way into the top 15 in the opening laps, only to have to go to the rear of the pack after being nabbed for speeding on pit road. Back on the attack again, Blaney rallied back to 16th before more troubles on pit road sent him back to the rear on two more occasions, once because of a loose wheel. Continue reading Pit Road Woes Relegate Blaney To a 20th-Place Finish in Coca-Cola 600 →

Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion Pays Tribute To Cherone Gunn and Christoffer Auderer in Coca-Cola 600

May 24, 2016

Memorial Day weekend has many meanings for the American public. The Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is one of auto racing’s greatest days, beginning with the Grand Prix of Monaco, followed by the Indianapolis 500 and then the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Continue reading Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion Pays Tribute To Cherone Gunn and Christoffer Auderer in Coca-Cola 600 →

Blaney Battles Hard But Comes Up Short In Sprint Showdown
May 21, 2016

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team missed out in their quest to earn a starting spot in the Sprint All-Star race, but they can leave Charlotte Motor Speedway with their heads held high after a strong effort in Saturday’s Sprint Showdown.

Rains in the Charlotte area on Friday meant that Blaney and his fellow Showdown participants had to start the race without a single lap of practice, something rarely – if ever – seen on the Sprint Cup circuit. Continue reading Blaney Battles Hard But Comes Up Short In Sprint Showdown →

The Wood Brothers’ And Michael Waltrip’s All-Star Victory

May 18, 2016

Through the years, NASCAR’s All-Star race has produced some of the sport’s most dramatic moments, and almost every “Top 10” list of best races includes the race that occurred 20 years ago this month. That’s when Michael Waltrip barely squeaked the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Ford into the starting field, then went on to score a dramatic victory over Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte and Rusty Wallace. Continue reading The Wood Brothers’ And Michael Waltrip’s All-Star Victory →

Blaney Dodges Dover Crashes To Score Third-Straight Top-10

May 15, 2016

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team avoided the pitfalls that can come from racing on the Monster Mile, the one-mile concrete oval that is better known as Dover International Speedway, and brought home an impressive eighth-place finish.

It was the team’s third-straight top-10 finish, its fifth top-10 of the season and its fourth finish of 11th or better in the past five races. Continue reading Blaney Dodges Dover Crashes To Score Third-Straight Top-10 →

Eddie Wood Recalls A Dover Race Lost Because Of A Lug Nut

May 11, 2016

The Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, with rookie driver Ryan Blaney now at the wheel, will be back on the track at Dover International Speedway this weekend for the first time since 2008, when the team cut back to a partial Sprint Cup schedule.

For the Wood Brothers, it’s a return to one of the tracks where they had great success in years past. Continue reading Eddie Wood Recalls A Dover Race Lost Because Of A Lug Nut →

Blaney Finishes A Season-Best Fifth At Kansas

May 8, 2017

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team put together their strongest effort of the season on Saturday night in the Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Blaney started seventh, and from the drop of the green flag until the checkered flag, he was rarely out of the top-10, and inside the top five for much of the race before finishing a season-best fifth.

His pit crew, led by crew chief Jeremy Bullins, was virtually flawless throughout the race, with Blaney gaining one position on nearly every pit stop. Continue reading Blaney Finishes A Season-Best Fifth At Kansas →

Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Hoping The Good Times Continue To Roll At Kansas Speedway

May 4, 2016

Kansas Speedway, the brainchild of International Speedway Corporation CEO Lesa France Kennedy, has been a special place for Ryan Blaney, the Wood Brothers and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team.

For Blaney, the 1.5-mile track that once was literally out in the corn fields, but now has become the centerpiece of a major commercial development, is the site of his Sprint Cup debut, back in 2014 while driving for Team Penske. Continue reading Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Hoping The Good Times Continue To Roll At Kansas Speedway →

Blaney Overcomes Talladega Crash Damage to Finish 9th and Score His Third Top-10 of 2016

May 1, 2016

Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team played a supporting role in a big racing Sunday for Ford Motor Company.

In Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Blaney and his Motorcraft/Quick Lane team came back from being on the receiving end of some damage in a multi-car crash and being a lap down to finish ninth, the second Ford team in the finishing order behind race winner Brad Keselowski in the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion from Team Penske, which shares equipment and technology with the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team.

And the finish came at about the same time that Ford’s sports car racing entry, the Ford GT, scored its first IMSA win, at Laguna Seca Raceway in California.

“It was a great day for Ford Motor Company, and we’re honored to be a part of it,” said Eddie Wood, co-owner of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion. “Congratulations to Brad Keselowski and all the people at Team Penske for a great win. Congratulations to Ford Performance and all the people who have worked so hard to get the Ford GT a win in such a short time.” Continue reading Blaney Overcomes Talladega Crash Damage to Finish 9th and Score His Third Top-10 of 2016 →

Talladega’s A Special Place For Ford And The Wood Brothers

April 28, 2016

Ford Motor Company in general, and the Wood Brothers in particular, have had some glorious Sunday afternoons at Talladega Superspeedway through the years.

In the early years of the track that opened in 1969, the Wood Brothers won five races from the spring of 1971, when Donnie Allison drove the iconic No. 21 to victory at his home track, until the fall of 1979, when another Alabama driver, the late Neil Bonnett, scored the victory. Continue reading Talladega’s A Special Place For Ford And The Wood Brothers →

Blaney Finishes 28th At Richmond 400

April 24, 2016

Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway was one of those days in which Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion team were reminded of the old saying about how close doesn’t count.

The team had the right pit strategy to finish in the top 15 or better, but the breaks they needed seemed to always happen a few laps too late, and Blaney wound up a disappointing 28th at the finish. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney Finishes 28th At Richmond 400 →

Wood Brothers’ Short Track Success With Blaney Reminiscent of The Kyle Petty Era

April 19, 2016

As Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team head to Richmond International Raceway, it will be a first for Blaney in a Sprint Cup car. For the Wood Brothers, it will be their first visit to the track since 2008, and team co-owner Eddie Wood says he feels like it’s 1985 again.

In 1985, like this season, the Woods were coming off a partial Sprint Cup schedule and going racing full time. Just like the present day with youthful Blaney, they had another youngster, Kyle Petty, then age 25, at the wheel to start the 1985 season. Both are third-generation racers and both developed into perfect fits for the Woods, NASCAR’s longest tenured race team. Continue reading Wood Brothers’ Short Track Success With Blaney Reminiscent of The Kyle Petty Era →

Bottom Lane Blues Leave Blaney 11th at Bristol

April 17, 2016

Ordinarily, running in fifth position with 10 laps to go in a Sprint Cup race would be a good thing. But for Ryan Blaney and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon, that odd-numbered position meant having to restart on the inside lane. It was a big disadvantage, leading to lost positions on two late-race restarts with Blaney finishing 11th on a day that otherwise was a strong one for his Motorcraft/Quick Lane team.

“It was good until the end,” Blaney said. “We should have run fifth, easy.”

He said Bristol’s bottom lane just isn’t the place to be. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Bottom Lane Blues Leave Blaney 11th at Bristol →

The Last 1-2 Finish For The Wood Brothers and The Pettys Came In The 2001 Food City 500 At Bristol

April 13, 2016

When it comes to iconic teams in NASCAR, few have as much history as the Wood Brothers from Stuart, Va., and the Pettys from Level Cross, N.C.

Although the members of the respective families have been friends for decades, they also have been rivals on the track, and that continues through today.

Over the years, the two teams and their drivers have played starring roles in some of the all-time historic finishes in NASCAR history. The two teams’ legendary drivers David Pearson and Richard Petty hold the all-time NASCAR record for 1-2 finishes with 63, with Pearson winning 33 races to Petty’s 30. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–The Last 1-2 Finish For The Wood Brothers and The Pettys Came In The 2001 Food City 500 At Bristol →